Google Announces New Android TVs, Google Cast Speakers

Google has a few bits of living room news out of CES. These surround both its Android TV and Google Cast lines.

On the Android TV front, new TVs from Sony, Sharp, and Philips are being shown off.

“Android TV brings apps, games, movies, shows, music and more to the biggest screen in your home,” Google’s Adrienne McCallister says in a blog post. “From smart TVs to cable box operators, many devices support the Android TV experience. Now you’ve got even more options to find the device that’s right for you. If you’re looking for a new TV, you can select an Android TV from Sony, Sharp and Philips. Later this year, Android TV will be available from Arcelik, Vestel, RCA, Hisense, TCL and Bang & Olufsen. And, for our users in Indonesia, Linknet now has an Android TV offering.”

In Cast news, Google says in the coming months, you’ll be able to take advantage of Google Cast built into speakers from Sony, LG, B&O Play, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Philips, Pioneer, and Raumfeld.

“Google Cast, the same technology built into Chromecast, is now embedded directly into speakers, sound bars, and A/V receivers so you can cast music from your favorite app on your phone or any music streaming website on Chrome,” says McCallister. “Throughout 2016, you’ll be able to enjoy Google Cast speakers from B&O Play, Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Philips, Pioneer, and Raumfeld. Sony and LG, who were among the first to include Google Cast in their speakers, are also refreshing their speaker lineups. Cast-enabled software and hardware from Frontier Silicon and StreamUnlimited will make it easier for more audio companies to join the Google Cast family.”

Last month, Google announced multi-room support and high resolution audio of up to 96KHz/24bit lossless audio playback for Chromecast Audio.